Owners searching for software that explains QuickBooks reports in plain English usually land on Fathom, Reach Reporting or a fractional CFO. Here's a fair look at each.
"Software that explains QuickBooks reports in plain English"
That's what owners type when the monthly P&L has stopped being useful. What they want isn't more data. They want someone, or something, to say: here's what happened, here's why, here's what to do.
There are five common ways to get there. I've used or evaluated versions of all of them, first in private equity and now with small businesses. Each one is good at something. None is perfect for a 5 to 50 person company. Here's the honest rundown.
What you're actually shopping for
Before comparing products, separate three jobs that get lumped together. Bookkeeping makes the numbers right. Reporting arranges them into charts and tables. Commentary explains what they mean and what to do. Most tools sold to small businesses do the first two well. The third is where owners get stuck.
When you read reviews or demo a product, ask one test question: "On the 15th of next month, who writes the sentence that tells me why margin moved?" If the answer is "you do" or "your accountant, for an extra fee," you're buying reporting, not commentary. That can still be the right purchase. Just know what you're getting.
Also ask how much setup it needs. Reporting tools are only as good as the mapping behind them. If nobody maps your chart of accounts to the way you run the business, the prettiest dashboard will still show categories that mean nothing to you.
Option 1: Your accounting software's built-in reports
QuickBooks Online and Xero both produce solid standard reports: P&L, balance sheet, cash flow, AR aging, with comparison columns if you set them up. Both vendors have been adding AI assistants and summaries, and those features are improving.
Where it's strong: it's already paid for, the data is live, and your bookkeeper knows it.
Where it falls short: the reports are organized by accounting category, not by how you run the business. Summaries tend to describe what moved without knowing why, because the software doesn't know your jobs, your season, or that you lost a big customer in August. And many owners never set up the comparison views in the first place.
For context, only about half of small businesses use accounting software at all (OnPay, 2019). If you're in the half that does, start here before buying anything.
A practical tip: ask your bookkeeper to save a comparison-format P&L as a memorized or custom report, so it runs the same way every month with one click. That alone fixes half the readability problem.
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173 systems most businesses rent, what each one replaces, and what it costs a typical 10-person company every month. Tick what you pay for, circle three, and see what owning them would look like.
Download the free Blueprint →Option 2: Fathom
Fathom is a reporting and analysis tool that connects to QuickBooks, Xero and others, and turns the books into dashboards, KPI tracking, forecasts and polished management reports. It's popular with accounting firms that produce reports for many clients.
Where it's strong: clean visuals, good KPI library, consolidation for multi-entity businesses, and nice-looking PDF reports you can hand to a bank or partner.
Where it falls short for an owner: it's a tool, not an analyst. You get charts of gross margin; you still have to decide why it fell and what to do. Pricing is per company on a monthly subscription, so it's another recurring line. Check current tiers on their site, since they change.
Option 3: Reach Reporting
Reach Reporting is in the same category: connect your accounting data, build templated reports and dashboards, add forecasts, and send them out. It's also widely used by advisory firms and fractional CFOs.
Where it's strong: flexible report building, white-labeling for firms, and good templates for recurring monthly packages.
Where it falls short for an owner: same core gap. A beautiful report still needs a person to write the commentary. Many firms using Reach or Fathom add that commentary by hand, which is exactly what you're paying the firm for.
So in the "Reach Reporting vs Fathom" debate, the honest answer for most small business owners is: they're comparable, pick the interface you like, and know that neither one will sit with you and explain.
Option 4: Spreadsheets you build yourself
Export the P&L to Excel or Google Sheets, build a comparison tab, add percentages and a notes column.
Where it's strong: free, flexible, and you'll learn your numbers deeply building it.
Where it falls short: it depends on you doing it every month, forever. Spreadsheets break when the chart of accounts changes. And it's one more place your finances live. 38% of owners named using multiple applications as a top financial admin frustration (Tide, 2016).
Option 5: A fractional CFO (or an accountant who actually explains things)
A part-time finance pro reviews your books monthly and walks you through them on a call. Our estimate for a share of one at a typical 10-person company is about $600 a month.
Where it's strong: judgment. A good one knows your industry, asks the questions you didn't think of, and helps with lenders, pricing and big decisions.
Where it falls short: it's the most expensive option, the quality varies a lot, and the knowledge lives in their head. If they leave, the insight leaves too. And for the routine monthly read, you're paying expert rates for work that is mostly the same every month.
The pattern, and what owning looks like instead
Notice what each option has in common. You're paying monthly for either a tool or a person, and the actual product you want, the written explanation, is either missing or locked inside someone else's hours.
Software sprawl makes it worse. Average SaaS spend has hit $4,830 per employee (Zylo, 2025), and roughly 60% of small and mid-size businesses made a software purchase they regretted in the past 18 months (Capterra, 2025). Adding a reporting subscription to fix a reading problem often just adds another login.
The fifth path, and the one we build for owners, is a financial commentary system that lives in your own accounts. It pulls from QuickBooks or Xero each month, runs the comparisons, applies your own targets and notes about the business, and writes a one-page plain-English summary with action items and questions for your bookkeeper.
It runs on your own AI subscription, so you pay your own usage and nothing is marked up. It's yours to keep, including every prompt, template and past month's commentary, even if you stop working with us.
It doesn't replace your CPA, and it won't replace a CFO for a bank negotiation or a sale. What it replaces is the monthly reporting subscription and the routine hours you'd otherwise rent.
How to choose
- Under $500K in revenue, simple books: start with built-in reports and the monthly routine. Learn your numbers first.
- Accounting firm producing reports for you: Fathom or Reach is probably already in their stack. Ask them to add written commentary.
- Big decision coming (financing, acquisition, sale): a fractional CFO for that project is money well spent.
- You want the monthly explanation every month without renting it: own the commentary system.
Whichever you pick, run the monthly routine yourself for at least two months first. You'll know what you actually need explained, and you'll be a much sharper buyer of any tool or advisor.
Questions owners ask
Reach Reporting vs Fathom: which is better for a small business?
They're broadly comparable reporting tools aimed heavily at accounting and advisory firms. Pick based on interface and your accountant's preference. Neither writes the business judgment for you.
Do I need a CFO to explain my financials?
Not for routine monthly reading. A written monthly summary plus a good bookkeeper covers most owners. A CFO earns their fee on big decisions like financing, acquisitions or a sale.
Fractional CFO vs accountant who actually explains things: what's the difference?
An accountant focuses on accurate books and taxes. A fractional CFO focuses on forward-looking decisions, cash planning and strategy. Some accountants do both; ask what's included before you sign.
Will an owned system work with QuickBooks and Xero?
Yes. It reads from whatever accounting software you already use, through your own login and connections.
Own the system instead of renting it
Valuexus builds it inside your own accounts, usually within 24 hours, and it stays yours even if you cancel. $450 a month, locked for life; your first month is $225 with code WELCOME50. 7-day, 75% money-back guarantee.
See how Valuexus works →Keep reading
- Flying Blind in Your Business? Why Your Numbers Show Up Months Late
- Profitable but No Money in the Bank? Here's Where the Cash Went
- My Accountant Sends Me Reports I Don't Understand. Now What?
- What Not Understanding Your P&L Is Really Costing Your Business
Sources
- Small business software adoption: payroll 60%, accounting 50%, expense tracking 35%, time tracking 31% — OnPay, 2019 Small Business Finance and HR Report
- Owners' biggest financial admin frustrations: tax calculations 54%, accounting 51%, tracking expenses 49%, using multiple applications 38% — Tide, via Startups.co.uk (2016)
- Average SaaS spend reached $4,830 per employee, up 21.9% year over year — Zylo 2025 SaaS Management Index
- Roughly 60% of SMBs made a software purchase they regretted in the past 18 months — Capterra 2025 Tech Trends Survey
- Only 1 in 10 SMBs with growth targets tracks them in real time, and 70% of owners said they lack daily insight into company performance — Geckoboard SMB Growth and Metrics Survey (2016)
Written by Hunter J. Schneider, founder of Valuexus. Get your free 173-point AI audit.